Dry closet



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

E. C. GONDIT.

DRY GLOSET.

Patented Sept. 4, 1888,

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(No Medel.) 3 Sheets--Sheet- 2..

E. C. CONDIT.

DRY GLOSBT.

No. 388,951. Patented Sept. 4, 1888,

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(No Modl.)

.8 Sheets--Sheet 3. B'. C. CONDIT.

DRY' GLosET.

Patented sept. 4', '1888,

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Unirse Sterns ainsi site i FZEKIEL C. CONDIT, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

DRY CLOSET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 388,951. dated September e, 1888.

Application filed October 28, 1887. Serial No. 253,616.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FZEKIEL C. CoNDrr, of Kansas Gity,in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dry Closets, of which the following is a specilioation.

My present invention relates to dry closets; and the invention consists in so constructing and arranging the flues and other parts that the closets with their vaults can be located on the several stories of a building and one or more of them be used independently of the others, or all simultaneously, as may be preferred or necessary.

Figure lis a vertical section of a portion of a building, showing the closets on two doors, the section being taken on the line y i/ of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section on the line fr a of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on thelineii'ofFig. l, and Figs. 4, 5, G, and 7 are enlarged views of portions shown more in detail, Fig. i being a section on the line Lo in, and Fig. 6 a section on the line z e, A

of Fig. 7

Heretoiore these dry closets have been located in the basement or lower story only of buildings,whieh,while answering for a certain class of buildings, does not meet the necessities of hotels and similar buildings, in which it is desirable to have each story provided i with a separate set or' closets, each set having its own vault, and to so arrange them and their vent or draft lues that each vault be made to operate independently of the others in order to insure a thorough or suflicientdraft or current of air through each vault, whatever the number of them may be, and such is the object of my present invention.

In order to illustrate the principle of my invention, in Figs. l and 2 I have shown the closets applied in two stories of a building, the application to additional stories being a mere extension or duplication of the same, and therefore obvious to persons skilled in the art. The vaults C in this caseareshown constructed on the plan described in Patent No. 358,546, issued to me March l, 1887, and in which there is a transverse horizontal shelf or partition, L, which causes the air to pass twice through said vaulte-iirst through the duct d, under the partition, and then hack through (No model.)

the duet d', above the partition, as shown in Fig. l. In order to secure a separate draft through each of these vaults, I provide separate flues therefor, A being the vent flue or shaft for the upper vault and B being the vent-flue for the lower vault, there being a furnace or heater, H, located at or near the bottom of these shafts to heat the intlowing air, and thus ereateacurrent or d raftof air through the vaults, and from thence out through the (lues A and B to the atmosphere above the building. In order to conduct a portion ot' this heated air through the lower vault, an opening, c, is made from its upper duet, d', into the tlue B, as shown in Fig. l, there being a hinged damperor valve,f, located in the lower duct, (l, by which the quantity of air passing through the lower vault can be regulated as desired, or by whiclrit can be shut ot'l f entirely when desired, said valve being provided with a rod or handle, t, by which it can be operated from the outside. To conduct the air to the upper vault, a similar opening, l1., is made in the lower duct, d, of the lower vault to connect with the shaft A, as shown in Figs. l and 2, this shaft or tlue being also provided with a valve or damper, c, by which to regulate or shut off the passage of air, as may be desired.

At a point opposite the partition L in the upper vault in theshaftA, I placeadiaphragm, g, as shown in Fig. 2, andjust below this diaphragm g, I make an opening, i, which connects with the lower duet, d, ot' the upper vault, there being also a similar opening, k, leading from the upper duct, tl', baci; into the shaft A, as shown clearly in Figs. l and 2.

It will at once be seen that the air which enters the flue A through the opening h at the bottom will pass up said tine until it reaches the diaphragm g, and then pass through the opening 'i into the duet d oi' the upper vault, along through said duct and back through duct d', and from thence through the opening k back into the flueA above the diaphragin,and thence out at its top. In this way I secure a draft through each vault separately, and also provide means for regulating the quantity of air for each, or for shutting the air off from either at will.

It will readilyT be understood from this description and illustration that if it be desired to apply vaults and closets to additionalstories it will only be necessary to add another ventshaft for each additional story and arrange the diaphragm g and the openings 'Z and 7c therein in the same relation to the closets of the additional stories as that shown in the second story in this ease, and that thus this system of dry closets may be applied to any number of stories desired.

While for convenience of illustration I have in this instance shown the air for each vault or set ofclosets as iirst entering the mouth ofthe lower vault and being taken from these, it is obvious that it may be taken from the heating chamber by separate ducts, the same as hot airis taken from a furnace toheat different rooms of a building. For instance, the air for the upper closet in Figs. l and 2 could just as well be taken through a separate opening from the heat-chamber arranged at right angles to the opening h and leading direct into the shaft A, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, in which case the opening 7L would be omitted, and so on for any number of additional stories.

The Vaults will be made dre-proof, as is now customary in this class of dry closets. In order to enable the dry deposits therein to be burned without removing them and without endangering the building, I have made some improvements in the construction of the metallic portions ofthe closets and vanlt,which I will now proceed to describe. The partition-plate L, in stead of being extended entirely across the vault and secured to the walls on opposite sides, as in my former patent, is now made as shown in Fig. 4, in which it will be seen that it is but about two-thirds as wide as the vault, its rear edge being supported by the wall on that side, while its front edge is supported by an inclined plate, G, the upper edge of which is supported by the inclined inner edge, n, of the plate F, which forms the platform in frontlof the seats or raised portion, these plates being firmly bolted together, so as to render the whole strong and secure. The riser or front plate, E, is provided with a flange, o, by which it is bolted fast to the platform F, andthe top is composed of a series of plates, K, having their rear edges supported by the rear wall, while their front edges rest on the riser E at each side of the seats, the adjoining edges of these plates K b'eing made to come tlush and fastened together by screws or bolts, as shown in Fig. 6, which is a section on the line z z of Fig. 7. lThese plates K have an oblong hole or opening from neartheir back edge to the front, to receive a metal plate, Z, with a hole in it, said plate being covered by a wooden piece, m, which also has a hole in it to form the seat, the rear edge and sides of this plate Z being supported by a-lip or recessed iiange, p, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, this lip or iiangep being depressed far enough to receive the plate, Z, and also the cover I, as shown in Fig. 4, the cover I being hinged at its rear edge to the plate K and made to tit down in the recess iu the same, so that its upper side will come flush with the upper face of plate K, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6.

Vhen it is desired to burn the contents of the vault,the seat Z in is lifted ont and a metal plate, T, which is of the same size, but without any hole in it, is substituted, as shown in Fig. 5. i

In order to prevent the urine from being deposited on the shelf L,the plate G is provided with a longitudinal lip, r, along its inner face, as shown in Fig. 4, and a corresponding lip or drip tlange,j, on its opposite face, there be- 'ingat intervals pert'orations c, through which the tiuid may pass and fall upon arow of bricks, b', or other absorbent material, from `which it is subsequently evaporated by the continuously-passing current of air.

Io prevent the urine which runs down the inner face ofthe riser E from getting into the joint where the plates F and G unite, I make along the inner tace ofthe riserE an inclined tiange or lip, q, as shown in Fig. 4,which serves to detlectthe liquid and throw it onto the plate G below the joint; or the edge of plate G may be secured to the under side of flange n, in which case the lipg will not be required.

In cases where there is a sewer to which the urine can be conducted I locate a trough, t', (shown in Fig. 4,) in such a position as to catch the fluid as it falls from the lipj, the lower end of said trough delivering its contents to a pipe arranged to connect with the sewer; or in ease there be no sewer convenient the pipe may be arranged to conduct the urine to the outside of the building and to any point desired.

The arrangement ofthe pipes must ofcourse depend upon the shape and size of the building and the location of the closets, and therefore must be determined by the party putting in the closets; but with the explanation herein given any one skilled inthe art will be enabled tolocate them as required. It is obvious that by omitting the perforations v the lip r may be made to serve as a trough in lieu of the trough t', and in that oasethe front lip,j, may also be omitted, the trough formed by the lip r in such ease being connected to apipe IOO at its end, which shall extend to the sewer or outside of the building, as above described. By these means the urine is kept separate from the fecal deposits, which are thus driedin much less time than would be the case if both were deposited together on the shelf L.

In Figs. l, 2, and 3 I have shown a flue, C, as being built in between the dues A and B, and which is designed to receive the smoke from the range or any similar heater that may be in the building. When this is done,the smoke and heat passing up this fine C will so warm the adjacent iues as to create all the draft necessary, and in such case there will be little or no necessity for the heater H. I find in practice that oven wit-hout any heat there is a strong draft through the vault and flues, and that therefore it is necessary to build a rein the heater II only occasionally, and,asit were, to flush the vaults with heated air to sooner dry the deposits. Even Without any heat the draft is sufficient to carry off all odors; but with the heat the draft is increased and the deposits more quickly dried.

lt is obvious that other well-known methods of creating a draft may be substituted, if desired-such, for instance,as locating a steamcoil or other heater in the upper part of the ilues A and B, above the vaults-or, where power is convenient, a fan may be used; but as these are well known it is unnecessary to describe orshow them in detail. By these means I ani enabled to apply this system of dry closets to the several stories of hotels, factories, and, indeed, all buildings.

Having thus described my invention, what I Clai n1 is 1.. In combination with a building, two or more dry closetslocated in the different stories of the building, each of said closets being provided witli a separate ilue for causing air to pass through their vaults, and a corresponding set of valves or dampers arranged to regulate or shut oft the air from either of said closets at will, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a dry closet, the inclined front plate, G, provided with the lip or flange r on its inner face, the perforations o, and the drip-iiange j on its opposite face, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a dry closet, the detachable seat composed of the nictal plate l and the superimposed layer of wood m, in combination with the recessed top plate, K, as shown and described.

4. In combination with the recessed top plate, K, and the detachable seat Z m, the hinged lid I, arranged to lit in the recess in plate K and come flush with the upper surface thereof, as shown.

5. The combination, in a dry closet, of the plate G, provided with the lips r j and perforations u, with the trough t, arranged to operate substantially as described.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

EZEKIEL C. CONDIT.

Witnesses:

W'. H. WBnr, W. RioH. 

